Political Science

This course provides an overview of contemporary Japanese politics via Public (Rational) Choice Theory which emphasizes major political actors such as voters, parliamentarians, special interest groups, and national bureaucrats. This class describes and discusses some of the basic aspects of Japanese politics, currently undergoing a drastic transformation due to societal changes and globalization. The course covers the following topics: Public (Rational) Choice Theory, along with its strengths and weaknesses; democracy in Japan; party politics; the electoral system and voting participation; Japan's population issues; Japan's defense and foreign policy; Japan's food and energy problems, and current topics in Japanese politics and foreign policy.

This research internship program offers selected students the opportunity to participate in research projects or work as an intern in research centers or organizations at Yonsei University. Students are expected to participate in research projects for approximately 20 hours per week throughout the program. Projects will vary depending on placement. Graded Pass/No pass only.

This course explores the philosophy and politics of food and agriculture from international and comparative perspectives. It examines global food systems; their role in the transformation of agrarian societies, and their environmental effects. The political portion of the course focuses on governance, development, and the role of key institutions in shaping food systems. The philosophical portion of the course explores the values underlying food and agriculture in the United States and Japan, along with efforts to develop more just and sustainable food systems. The course also discusses genetically modified plants, food safety, agricultural intensification/Industrialization. 
 

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. The course focuses on the new requirements with which diplomacy must comply, both at the national and global level, in the present transitional phase of the international relations system. A special section of the course is devoted to the radical changes that occurred after the Cold War and the public and multilateral diplomatic methods that resulted from it, with special reference to specific crises. The course describes the additional challenges that diplomacy must face, at the domestic and international level, in the present transitional phase of foreign relations. Specific case studies analyze the most relevant changes that have occurred since the end of the Cold War, and indicate the emerging public and multilateral diplomatic tools.

This course examines a variety of aspects concerning international politics in Europe, with particular focus on the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. The course surveys the postwar history of international politics in Europe; European integration in general and the European Union in particular; the role played by security organizations (especially NATO and OSCE); US and Soviet/Russian policy towards Europe; the eruption of ethno-political conflict (in particular, the Balkans); the international impact of Germany's recent reunification; and the quest for order, stability, and security in a region that is no longer divided by the Iron Curtain but in which international politics continue to be shaped and affected by East-West as well as North-South contrasts. The course mixes an examination of contemporary aspects with historical contextualization, in presentations, readings, and video material.

This course traces the development of western political thought from its classical origins to its most important modern formulations, exploring the main European traditions of inquiry concerning the nature and status of political society, the state, law, citizenship, and relations of power. It extends from Greek antiquity to the early 20th century, and emphasis is placed on the writings of major thinkers and their contemporary historical contexts, including Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Alfarabi, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Franz Fanon, Hannah Arendt, and John Rawls.